Briar Rose
by Claidi
Summary: Briar Rose retold through the eyes of the witch. Short and Finished.


Once upon a time, there was a kingdom whose king and queen were barren. They cannot have children, even if they wanted one. They were desperate but it was all futile. It changed one day when the queen spoke with a frog that said they would have a child. The whole kingdom rejoiced. Then she was born. And her name was Briar-Rose. 

Twelve fairies were present in her christening. I was not invited. A hundred years have past yet I still wonder why they had not invited, why they chose to invite the other fairies who just gave her doom. They were blind…they did not see the consequences… They should have invited me.

The fairies gave little Briar-Rose gifts. Beauty, song, grace, wisdom…all the gifts contributed to her sheer perfection. How could they make such a stupid mistake? Why did they do it? Now I see why they could not have invited me. They knew I wouldn't bestow a gift to Briar-Rose. They knew I would be reluctant to do so. Selfish mortals…all they want was their benefits. 

I had to come. I must put an end to it. But how? I went to them. What a surprise. They didn't expect me. I asked why they did not invite me. Their Majesties gave such a petty excuse—there were no plates available. Years and years of passed on stories turned me into a witch who spoke heartlessly. The mortals are blind up till now. 

I approached the cradle with the beautiful baby…a baby deformed with magic. I sensed the Queen's horror but she did not make a move. I was the most powerful fairy. The twelve other fairies were no match for me, even if they teamed up.

"I am sorry little one…indeed I am. But you are a mistake. You will give misery to others if you live. You cannot exist in this world…you do not have a place here. You are too perfect. You are too filled with magic," I whispered to the child…hoping, hoping that my deed would not be as rash.

I turned to my audience—the King and Queen, the foolish fairies, the nobles who came far and wide. 

 "She is a mistake. She is the result of the stupidity of these eleven fairies. How dare you call yourselves so. You broke the rules. You bestowed gifts to this baby! You made her inhuman." The fairies stared at me with fear.

"How could she be inhuman?" a fairy demanded. I eyed her with spite. She was the one who started this. She was the first one to give her a gift.

"A human is not perfect. No one is perfect. She is perfect, no flaw, no fault, no error, no blunder…no nothing." 

"B-but your Ladyship. Can't you see this child! She deserves it," a another fairy stepped forward—dim-witted one. 

"She is not above the rules," I answered, angry this time. 

"We can solve this!" another more stupid one said.

"No, you cannot!" I retorted. "Unless you find a way to turn back time. Unless you find a way to manipulate your surroundings every second. Don't you realize that you destroyed this child's life? You are all stupid!" I shouted. I was angry now…very angry.

"This child was suppose to be a great queen _without_ your gifts. She was suppose to liberate those who are persecuted. She was suppose to be the symbol of magnificence. No queen would match her deeds." 

"Are you sure?" the King asked me.

"You question me? I am a Queen also. I am the most powerful also." I waved my hand. I mist settled in the hall. A woman was shown. She was not very beautiful. She was not the most graceful. She was intelligent but not too much. She was kind yet she was firm. She was not perfect but she was loved. I waved my hand again and she disappeared.

 "She would have been Briar-Rose but no, she is no longer that!" I waved my hand again.

A woman was shown. She was the most beautiful woman in the world. She was not intelligent nor was she kind. She was hated but she ruled.

I waved the image away. "This is Briar-Rose," I hissed. "That is her." 

"But she is suppose to be intelligent and kind!" a fairy protested.

"You will not get those with _gifts_! She is like that because everyone thought she would flourish without proper education. Everyone thought she would be kind all her own. She was a spoiled brat. Magic was laid to waste. All eleven of you must have thought well before casting this ills upon her! And with all that magic you disrupted the balance between magic and nature! You are not suppose to give too much at one moment! 

"Because of that, magic will erupt from everything. Magic will give catastrophes that cannot be stopped. You think you can stop that? You cannot. You rely on magic so much that when it turns its back on you, you are helpless. I myself cannot do anything. We fairies are suppose to be the guardians of magic and nature. We are suppose to watch out for danger." 

I shook my head. "I curse Briar-Rose. I will not kill her now. I will give her a chance to live. To witness the woes that she will bring so she herself will wish she were dead. When she turns fifteen she will prick her finger and die. With that prick comes the salvation of all. With that prick all would be back to normal." 

The Queen ran to me and sobbed. "Surely there is another way—"

I couldn't help it. It felt sick cursing her, and the tears of her mother broke my heart into two. But I had to do it. "No…there is no other solution…there is no other way…" 

I turned myself into the wind and flew back to my domain. There I cried. No one realized how painful it was to curse that baby. She was innocent. She knew nothing. If only they didn't do it.

I realized to late that the troublesome twelfth fairy had hidden herself away form me. She gave the baby another option. She would just sleep until a kiss came touched her lips. It was temporary. When she wakes, it would all occur again. 

Fifteen years of waste. I can no longer tell anything…it pains me to remember. Pains me even more to let it known. But I must tell you, when the kiss touched her lips, I brought her to my domain…away from her savior, away from her kingdom…she is safe now…but she is dead. No mortal can survive the journey to my domain. All that remains of her is a rose with her name. The most beautiful rose. 

And she lived happily ever after. 


End file.
